Air rifle? Forget what you knew from the old days.
If you are still thinking of a single-shot break barrel from your childhood, modern PCP air rifles will surprise you. Models with a hunting-style stock, riflescope, magazine and bolt in particular handle like a hunting bolt-action rifle when it comes to gun mount and operation.
The big difference in training: practically no noticeable recoil. That is exactly what makes them so interesting for hunters and sport shooters.
What is a PCP air rifle?
PCP stands for pre-charged pneumatic – an air rifle powered by compressed air.
Compressed air is stored in a cylinder. When a shot is fired, a valve releases a measured amount of it and propels the pellet. Instead of breaking the barrel and cocking a spring before every shot, as with a classic break barrel, the stored compressed air is available for several shots.
Modern PCP models are multi-shot and have a magazine and a bolt handle/cocking lever.
Depending on the version, there are traditional hunting stocks, thumbhole stocks, adjustable sport and precision stocks, and particularly compact designs. The range extends from simple training guns to high-end sport models.
Seven convincing advantages for hunting training
- Handles like a rifle: a suitably equipped PCP air rifle is mounted, handled and aimed like a bolt-action rifle. The basic handling and movement sequences are directly comparable. So are weight and feel.
- Magazine and cycling in the mounted position: multi-shot models with a cocking lever let you practise cycling the action without taking the gun out of the shoulder – exactly the routine that counts when shooting at moving game.
- Practically no recoil – ideal against flinching: without the expected recoil, it is easier to concentrate on a smooth trigger pull and stable gun handling. Low-recoil training can help to specifically reduce the anticipatory jerk when taking the shot, known as flinching.
- Individually adjustable triggers: many high-quality PCP models let you adjust the trigger weight to your personal preference within the intended adjustment ranges. This lets you train a clean, repeatable trigger pull.
- Swinging through on one line: with moving targets in particular, it is important to swing through smoothly, hold the horizontal line and not drift up or down unintentionally. This movement discipline can be practised again and again.
- Extremely cheap training ammunition: a tin of simple pellets costs just a few euros. Depending on the rifle ammunition chosen, the whole tin of 500 shots can cost about as much as just two rifle cartridges. That makes lots of repetitions economically attractive.
- Modern optics like on your hunting rifle: PCP air rifles with a suitable mount can be fitted with current riflescopes, variable magnification, illuminated reticles or suitable red dot sights. You then pick up the target through familiar optics.
A PCP air rifle handles like a rifle
When you shoulder a suitably equipped PCP air rifle, you immediately see the parallels: stock to the shoulder, look through the optics, acquire the target, swing through smoothly, squeeze the trigger in a controlled way and then cycle the action in the mounted position.
It's not just about a similar shape. It's about being able to repeat essentially all the key handling and movement sequences of shooting at moving game.
The almost recoil-free shot behaviour is particularly valuable. Anyone who subconsciously expects strong recoil when firing a rifle sometimes tends to flinch: the gun is jerked as the trigger is pulled.
With a PCP air rifle, you can focus entirely on the trigger pull and cleanly holding the line – without the distraction of pronounced recoil.
KEILERSHOOT PRO: now there's movement in your training
A modern PCP air rifle provides rifle-like handling. The KEILERSHOOT PRO adds the decisive component: a moving target – or stationary targets, of course.
The targets run in both directions and at different speeds. Pop-up targets, target cards, tree obstacles and changing backgrounds create ever-new training situations.
This lets you practise the key sequences as a whole:
Acquire the target – swing through on one line – squeeze the trigger in a controlled way – cycle the action in the mounted position.
Thanks to the consistent, repeatable conditions, the shooter can work on their own movement sequences and vary the difficulty.
500 pellets instead of a few rifle cartridges
Regular training doesn't have to be expensive.
For example, 500 simple 4.5 mm training pellets are available for around 8 euros. High-quality hunting ammunition can cost several euros per cartridge.
Depending on the type of ammunition, 500 pellets therefore cost about as much as two rounds of rifle ammunition.
The price comparison is an illustrative calculation, not a fixed price for every type.
Safety and firearms law: what applies at home?
An air rifle is also a firearm.
Under Section 2 of the German Weapons Act (WaffG) in conjunction with Annex 2, Section 2, Subsection 2 No. 1.1 WaffG, certain marked air guns up to 7.5 joules may be acquired and possessed by adults without a licence in Germany; all statutory requirements apply.
For shooting outside a shooting range, Section 12(4) No. 1(a) WaffG is particularly important:
On enclosed private property, under the conditions stated there, guns up to 7.5 joules may be fired without a shooting permit if the person with domiciliary rights consents or shoots themselves and the projectiles cannot leave the property.
Safe shooting directions, the operating manual, safety glasses and all other applicable regulations must of course still be observed.